Dear Betsyanna:Congratulations on your acceptance to Michigan Law School. As a graduate of the Law School, I’m confident that the next 3 years of your education will be enriching in ways you’ve not yet imagined. I’m very much looking forward to meeting you.

I’m writing to introduce you to the Michigan Access Program (MAP), a program here at the Law School aimed at enhancing the benefits of diversity. Each entering first year class, in addition to its academic excellence, comprises students who are diverse in many ways. That diversity and its educational benefits are two of the many strengths of Michigan Law. MAP seeks to ensure students’ full participation in and meaningful connection to the Law School. Toward that end, the chief objectives of MAP are to help build community by increasing access and participation, to reduce isolation, and to ensure a support network for participants. A key objective of the program is to create a comfortable environment for students to thrive in Law School. In the past, similar programming at the Law School has focused largely on students of color, a historically underrepresented group within the Law School community. The new, expanded focus of the program includes any entering student who believes he or she might fit the program’s objectives. Participation is voluntary, allowing a student to choose to participate based on the program’s objectives, and the student’s own background and experience.

During the academic year, the MAP program will provide participants an opportunity to meet in group settings for discussions with upper-class students, alumni, administrators, and sometimes, faculty. MAP participants will meet regularly with upper-class students who serve as facilitators and peer mentors. The discussions will focus on a wide variety of topics pertaining to both law school and practice experiences. The programming will reflect the diverse nature of the Law School student body, and varying student perspectives. MAP will begin with a summer “preorientation” program. The preorientation will begin with dinner on Tuesday, August 21, and end on Friday, August 24. The required first-year orientation begins on August 28, 2007, so participation in the MAP summer program will bring you to school about a week early.

So that we may plan properly for the preorientation program, we need to know how many students will attend. If you’d like to attend, please complete the Registration Form and return it by June 29, 2007. There is no registration fee and housing will be provided for those who can not move in early to the places they have chosen to live during the fall. However, housing is limited, requiring that we allocate such accommodations on a first-come-first-served-basis. If you will need housing during the program, please indicate it on the Registration Form. The form should be returned to my assistant, Trudy Feldkamp, at the University of Michigan Law School, 313 Hutchins Hall, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109-1215. Forms may also be faxed (734-647-5226) or emailed (tfeldkam@umich.edu). I will be in touch soon with more detailed information about the schedule. I look forward to your arrival in August. Very truly yours,

it's pretty much breaking news, katkins. i decided a bit ago that michigan was for me and that only an acceptance (yes, i'm staying on the WL) and money from chicago (yes, i'm a crazy dreamer) could sway my decision. the few that i'm still waiting on can blow me for taking effing long. those schools know who they are (penn ).

I know what you mean--I still feel "waffily" and I've already committed to Michigan. The good news is that Penn and Michigan are both great places to be. I'd say almost identical in terms of future options, so just depends on your visits. Hope you join us in AA, though.

We're renting a townhouse about 2.5-3 miles from school. My husband is going to drive me, so I don't have to worry abut parking. If I have a day when I only have to be at school 1-3 hours (like Fridays for some sections), I'll park at a pay garage.

So, Swifty, have you made up your mind? Do you remember me, btw, from the first ASW? We ate lunch together.

So, Swifty, have you made up your mind? Do you remember me, btw, from the first ASW? We ate lunch together.

How could I forget you, Alexandria? I even remember our conversation. . . though I thought I'd leave out Michigan funding information, as it's really none of our business. Though I think both you and the university are getting great deals.

And I think my mind is pretty much made up. It's was between Michigan and Penn. I liked both schools, both schools were 'collegial,' and while they both have their specific advantages, I suspect it's pretty much a wash when it comes to career options. Michigan has offered me more money, and what can I say, I like the architecture. And for my peace of mind, I really do need to get things arranged. . . I'm back in South America and the uncertainty has been interfering with my trip.

this turns me off as well. i'm thinking (not that i've put that much thought into it yet) of getting an off-campus apartment. let me know what you decide, i'll probably be searching for roommates as well - btw, is there somewhere we can do this??

when i was visiting michigan i grilled everyone on housing because it was a big concern of mine...here's the info i got:

i think that living off campus is the way to go, but it's complicated because you should try to live walking distance since parking is EXTREMELY limited. the guy in the admissions office told me street parking is easy, but all of the law students i asked said it was impossible. if you can't find nearby parking, you have to park at the stadium and take a shuttle from there. everyone said to just live walking distance, no matter what. but unfortunately walking distance off-campus housing is hard to find. i was told that the best bet was to try to live in a house with others since condos/apartments are pretty rare in the immediate area.

the thing that upset me about the lawyers club situation was the dining hall. i also had no interest in dorms (no kitchen + communal bathroom not even on every floor = hell to the no). but you can only eat in the dining hall if you live in the lawyers club (or someone signs you in). that bugged me because i wanted to be able to eat with my classmates, who will presumably mostly live/eat in the lawyers club (actually i think they said 50% of first years). that made me think twice about the lawyers club (as in, reconsidering living there). they also said that most people move off campus after the first year as groups into houses.

hope that helps. the main point i was trying to get across is to strive for walking distance housing because every single student mentioned the hellish parking situation and how much people regreted living far from campus first year. also, the admissions office had lists of students looking to sublet to other law students. most of the listing were for summers only, but some continued into that year. i'd get the list from them via email as a start. if you see someone living in a condo/apt close to campus, you can contact them and find out how they did it (if that's what you're looking for).

From what I read, you can eat in the lawyer's club even not living there, using pay-as-you-go system on your student ID. And there's the snack bar in Hutchins. And plenty of restaurants close by.

I'm living about 3 miles from the law school, but my husband is dropping me off/picking me up. Parking does suck. I only plan to do that on occasion, like if on Fridays I only have one class or something. There's a pay garage a couple blocks away (parked there for ASW) that is 40 cents per half hour.

There are some popular apartment complexes like Woodbury Gardens that are not walking distance (bicycle distance, though, in good weather) but right on the bus line. I only talked to one student who lived there, and she was very happy with it. We chose not to live there because we found a nice place that's a new-build condo/townhouse with nice interior upgrades being rented out by the builder (because they couldn't sell all of them at once). My husband went to see Woodbury Gardens while I was at an ASW event, and he thought they were clean and well-maintained, but a little older.

Walking distance is obviously optimum. The various people I know who are starting this fall and wanted something walking distance had to do a fair amount of hunting to find things that fit their standards/price ranges, but they've eventually found something they're happy with.

Last edited by Alexandria on Fri May 11, 2007 9:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

From what I read, you can eat in the lawyer's club even not living there, using pay-as-you-go system on your student ID.

yeah, you definitely can eat there without living in the lawyer's club, but you have to be signed in by a student who does live in the lawyer's club. at least this is what my student tour guide explained to me. not the biggest deal once you're situated, but in the beginning when you're still trying to meet people it may be a bit of a nuisance not to be able to eat with many of the other students unless one of them signs you in.

Last edited by Criminy on Sat May 12, 2007 12:04 am, edited 1 time in total.